The Fox's Vices
by RantSulk
Summary: The Kyuubi takes Naruto into the forest of death at a young age to train with one promise: to ensure that Naruto never becomes a screaming orange idiot. What effect will this training have on Naruto in the future and how will Naruto find ways to cope with the harsh ninja world? NarutoxAnko
1. Not So Alone

**AN: This will be my first Naruto story. It's gonna be Naruto/Anko story. Please read and review I will try to answer all reviews at the beginning of the next chapter or in a PM. If you see something grammatically or any typos you want changed tell me. I'll get on it. Also the training will move quickly until he becomes a genin.**

Normal

_Thought_

_**Demon talk**_

**Jutsu**

* * *

**Chapter 1: Not So Alone**

Naruto woke that night with a start. Sweat was pouring down his body and it was obvious from the state that his covers were in that he was tossing and turning throughout the night. The young blonde boy was used to nightmares, these were different though. It's like they were real, all too real. He saw images of a great beast tearing through Konoha and of some strange man that he recognized as the Yandaime Hokage fighting against it. Naruto had no ideas of what these dreams meant, but they were getting more frequent, and more real. Sometimes during them he could swear he could feel the great power when it attacked, then it was almost as if it was trying to communicate with him. The scrawny boy would have normally told the Hokage about these dreams by now, but he brushed it off as too much ramen before bed.

With a groan he decided he wasn't going to get anymore sleep and sat up trying to get his eyes adjusted to the dark apartment. The apartment literally looked like a tornado had gone through it. There was trash, clothes, and Kami knows what else covering nearly every surface possible. Naruto couldn't even remember what the floors looked like. I suppose this was what happened when you let a six-year-old live by himself for a majority of his life.

Finally gathering enough energy to get up, he stood up with a yawn and a stretch before heading to the door. The sun wasn't out yet and this was Naruto's favorite time to go out. The majority of the villagers wouldn't be out yet and it was way easier for him to get around and enjoy what little of the village he was allowed to see. When he opened the door he noticed something very strange however, he was not in Konoha at all. In fact he had no idea where he was, all he could make out was a dark sewer looking passage with ankle-deep water. Deciding he was still in a dream he moved on to try to explore the darkness.

After what seemed like hours of exploring he finally saw some light, and when he arrived at the source of the light, there was a giant cage that had a paper seal in place of the lock. He didn't have long to stare before he heard a demonic voice and a giant red fox appeared. "_**So it seems that my warden has finally arrived eh? I guess the struggle trying to get you here paid off."**_

Naruto stared at the being in awe, he was suddenly feeling very weak in the knees and as if he should turn and sprint away. His legs weren't responding however and all he could do stare. It seemed like hours to him, but after a few moments he was finally able to stutter out, "W…who a…are y…y…you".

The giant creature suddenly looked as offended as a giant fox could. The look passed as quickly as it had appeared however, and was quickly replaced by the one of malice that he saw when he arrived. _**"What is this village teaching kids these days? I'm the kyuubi boy and I seem to have the misfortune of being trapped inside you. Since I'm here however we might as well get some things straight." **_The fox suddenly smiled in a too friendly sort of manner before he continued. _**"Since I'm stuck inside you and I've noticed that you seem to have your mindset on becoming a ninja…"**_

The small blonde boy interrupted the fox with unexpected enthusiasm as he said, "Not just any ninja! I'm gonna be the Hokage! Believe it!"

The kyuubi looked down at the child with annoyance. _**"Boy! Don't interrupt me again."**_ The fox said while striking at the bars, which got the desired response of Naruto cowering in fear. _**"As I was saying before I was interrupted, I've decided to help you on your petty quest to become the Hokage, but there are some conditions. Firstly you are never to say 'Believe it' again." **_The let out an involuntary shuddered as he remembered the Naruto that he had seen in his visions of the future. _**"Second you will do EVERYTHING I say during training. No whining, no ifs ands or buts. Third we are NOT friends; I have merely decided that you will be more bearable to deal with if handled now than later. Also we will start training right about now."**_

Naruto didn't have any time to accept or deny the offer, or even move for that matter as he was forcefully kicked out of his dream state and found himself in the middle of what looked to be a training ground. It wasn't long after he appeared there that he once again heard the voice of the fox, still not sure if he was dreaming or not he decided to pinch himself. He let out a sharp yelp that confirmed he was in fact not dreaming. He started looking around to study his surroundings completely ignoring the growing voice in his head. _**"Boy... BOY... Boy I swear to kami you will answer me right now or I'll eat you and we'll both die!"**_

By the time he responded the fox was yelling as loud as it could and when Naruto finally started paying attention he let out an involuntary scream of surprise as his ears were ringing. "Where are we?" Naruto asked in awe as he finally saw the dark forest that was looming in front of him.

"_**This is training ground 44 also known as the forest of death, or your home for the next couple of months." **_The fox said in an amused tone, he seemed to know how the blonde ninja to be would react.

Naruto quickly found that his mouth had dropped in a mix between shock and terror. "WH…What?! I have to live in a place called the forest of death?! I'm six for kamissake!"

_**"You want to be the hokage right? If you're going to have to be in danger it might as well be now rather than in a couple of years when there are people trying to kill you. These boys are just animals, now you're going to go in there and stay the night. Tomorrow we start the fun stuff." The demon said with the same amused look.**_

Naruto was sure that this was the end of the road for him. He was going to go in the forest and be eaten by kami knows what. Even as detached from the village as he was he still heard stories about this particular training ground. He heard about the killer animals, and plants, and insects, and traps, and quicksand. To say that he was scared was a severe understatement.

Kyuubi as if sensing his doubts spoke quickly, _**"A bend in the road isn't the end of it Boy, unless you fail to make the turn."**_

Naruto sensed the wisdom in the ancient fox's words and proceeded to make his way into the forest, he still had his doubts, but if this was going to help him become the hokage he'd do anything nothing would stand in his way, BELIE…

_**"Will be eaten" **_Was all the kyuubi had to say to get him to stop his thought. He now realized that whatever he thought or saw, the kyuubi knew about, this was going to be fun. By this time he had made it far enough into the forest that he could no longer see the small training ground he originally appeared in. He stopped to say a prayer before he quickly ran as far as he could into the forest.

* * *

It had been a month since Naruto had originally entered the forest. The Kyuubi's idea of "training" seemed to be making Naruto run, then fight a wild animal, then run again, then fight, then run. Naruto wasn't even sure when the last time that he ate was. The only thing he knew was that right now about five very angry tigers were chasing him. So he was back to his favorite activity, running. The Kyuubi wasn't helping at all either. Every time more tigers would come after him he'd hear him laughing hysterically. At this point Naruto wasn't sure that this was even training at all. It was probably just a way for the Kyuubi to enjoy his time inside his "warden" as he referred to him.

Every time Naruto questioned the Kyuubi on his methods he would simply tell him _**"We acquire the strength we have overcome boy." **_Naruto on the other hand thought all of this was a load of crap.

_Where does he even come up with all this philosophical stuff?_ His little moment of thinking stopped as his foot was snatched with a vine from a man-eating plant. Without missing a beat he cut the vine and continued running for his life. After a week in Naruto was used to what the forest would throw at him, Bordering on a month now, he was about as experienced as one could get in a death forest, and he knew it wouldn't be long until the Kyuubi told him to fight off all the tigers. Which had happened several times already, and every time he finished of the tigers it seemed like no more animals would come around him for the day. This made him more suspicious that the Kyuubi had something to do with all of this, but one thing was true he was getting stronger. At this point he seemed he could run almost double what he could at the start and while the first time he could barely kill one tiger, with the Kyuubi's guidance in his fighting he was now able to soundly kill three. _Five's pushing it though._ He sourly thought.

"_**Alright boy, kill these and you get to eat! Kill that fast enough and just maybe you'll get to sleep. Clock's ticking though." **_Naruto didn't even respond, it was just a waste of energy. When he complained the Kyuubi either threatened his life or spit more philosophical crap at him.

He quickly spun around and decided to take the tiger in the lead head on hoping he could quickly dispatch of it and pick off the other tigers while running. Naruto jumped at the front tiger and grabbed its head before it could make a move to kill him. He twisted it in such a way that he knew its neck would be broken and quickly jumped away before the other tigers pounced on him. He repeated this process for another tiger before the third caught on and swiped at him before he could grab its head. The swipe hit him in the chest and he was knocked on his back. He rolled dodging the leap from the other tigers and ran in the other direction. He managed to take a look at his chest and saw the blood that was now soaking his shirt. _Yeah that's gonna hurt tomorrow._

He decided on another course of action and threw a large rock at the tiger in the lead. It hit it on the head and knocked it out, unfortunately the other two were now extremely close to him and he was forced to start running or they'd simply leap at him from behind. So he took out his makeshift spear, knowing that range would be his only advantage. As predicted both tigers leaped at him at the same time and he rolled away while stabbing on in the chest. He quickly pulled the spear out and began circling the other tiger before he finally took the initiative and threw charged at it, impaling the heart of the beast with the spear. He quickly finished off the unconscious tiger and sighed. He'd finally get to eat again.

The Kyuubi had long taught him about skinning and eating animals, along with fire making and most of the essentials of survival in a forest. At first he was hesitant about killing and eating animals, but he got over that the first day when he was nearly eaten several times. Naruto also learned many things about being a ninja, about hesitation being the seed of defeat, and how sometimes brute force wasn't the best option. Even though the tigers were stronger and faster than him, he was able to outsmart him and that was the key. In a roundabout way the Kyuubi was a really good sensei; his methods were just a little odd at times.

"_**Get some rest tonight boy, we'll be doing something different when you fall asleep, tonight we're going to activate your chakra." **_The kyuubi said as if he was telling the boy the biggest secret of all time.

Naruto now looked more excited than he had since the Kyuubi had revealed itself to him. "Really?! I thought you could only do that when you were older!" He said with the biggest grin he could give.

"_**Normally yes, but you're special, you have unusually large chakra coils, so the faster we act the easier it will be for you to control chakra later. That's what all this running and fighting has been for, without it your body wouldn't be strong enough to handle all the chakra and you would never have been able to mold it, now you've got enough stamina and strength to handle it."**_

Naruto could no longer contain his excitement and was no running around like a normal six-year-old with the world's largest grin on his face. Completely forgetting about the hostile place he was in. Luckily the Kyuubi would keep most of the animals away with his chakra until he thought it would be good to give Naruto more training. Naruto knew that to meet the Kyuubi in his mindscape he had to be asleep. It took some time but he finally calmed down enough to sleep and enter his mindscape.

* * *

**That's it for the first chapter, the other chapters will be longer and I'm going to try to push out one a week that seems to fit my schedule best. Read and review! And don't forget to Message me or point out any errors to me. I tried my best to edit it, but I'm sure a couple slipped through.**

**-RantSulk**


	2. Marked Territory

**AN: Made some adjustments to this chapter after reading the reviews. Hopefully it's a little better. Added a scene with Sarutobi as well.**

Normal

_Thought_

_**Demon talk**_

**Jutsu**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Marked Territory**

A year after Kyuubi helped Naruto unlock his chakra. Naruto is now 7.

"_**Gaki, if you can't sharpen your chakra enough to cut down a tree this small you'll never be able to learn the more advanced wind techniques. Shikaku can even manage this and he's not mentally stable." **_Kyuubi yelled through Naruto's mind.

During the past year Naruto had mastered some of the most basic chakra control exercises that the Kyuubi remembered from his previous hosts. A major advantage of being trapped in someone's chakra coils was that the Kyuubi could feel his hosts molding their chakra. So while the Kyuubi had never actually used any of these techniques or training methods, he was well versed. The great chakra fox didn't have the best disposition for teaching, but Naruto was progressing well. He had learned some of the most basic wind techniques that Kyuubi remembered the sand raccoon using.

"_**You better get this right gaki, or you aren't getting any food for another day!"**_

Naruto had long thought that the lack of food was not helping him in his endeavors to master new chakra releases, but he learned quickly that questioning the fox only garnered more punishment. This punishment usually came in the form of huge wild animals attacking him, more starvation, or running. Neither three were very appealing so he tried to keep as quiet as possible.

Naruto got in several more attempts before the kyuubi called him off, to Naruto's surprise he was actually allowed to hunt for himself today. Naruto's trip to find something to kill was quiet as expected. The forest looked as it usually did; unnaturally huge trees, plants, and animals littered the terrain. With the ominous dark, almost purple glow that the forest seemed to always have, despite the time of day or year. Naruto eventually found a deer that he made quick work off and brought back to the fire.

It was a little while after eating that Naruto started to get the feeling that something was watching him. He was used to the stares of the animals, but they usually stayed away from the fire. The fox probably had something to do with it too. This was different; this almost seemed as if a person was watching him. The fox didn't seem to notice, so he decided to stay quiet about it. A year alone in a forest can take a toll on a child.

Naruto was just about to fall asleep when he was tackled to the ground by a flash of purple and brown. The unknown assailant let go when Naruto managed to give her a quick punch to the throat.

"Ow, what the fuck Gaki? That hurt! Who the fuck are you anyway? What's a gaki like you doing in the forest of death?" The assailant said while standing up, as she stood Naruto got a better view of her. She had purple hair that seemed to be put up into a bun that resembled a pineapple. She was sporting a trench coat that went down to her knees. The trench coat was open and seemed to stay in the perfect spot so that nothing was revealed even when she moved. Underneath the coat was a tight mesh shirt and shorts, and an orange skirt. This was topped off by black sandals and beige anbu shin protectors.

"My names Uzumaki Naruto! I'm training to become the Hokage!" Naruto said with his classic pose and signature foxy grin.

"That's impossible Gaki; you look like you're six! How did you even get in this forest? And how have you managed to stay alive?" Anko said with a stunned look on her face at the child's carefree attitude.

"I'm seven, duh." Naruto said with an 'are you stupid look' on his face.

Anko's only response was to face fault, this forest scared most Chūnin, let alone a seven-year old kid. "Whatever, gaki, we're going back to the village before you get yourself killed."

"No can do lady! Boss says I gotta stay here until I can get into the academy" Naruto said with his arms crossed.

"What do you mean boss? Did someone take you out here? Where are they?" Anko questioned. Her patience was already beginning to wear thin.

"Uh, uh did i say boss I meant... sauce! Yeah one of the villagers said this forest had the best soy sauce and I wanted to pair it with my instant ramen" Naruto said while scratching the back of his head.

It was then that Anko's brain made the connections, blonde hair, been away from the village for a year, Naruto Uzumaki, had a taste for ramen. She honestly had no idea why she didn't see it before. "Wait you're THE Naruto Uzumaki? You've been here the whole fucking time! The hokage's sent at least a hundred search parties to try to find you! Do you know how much of my fucking time you've wasted?! You're fucking come back with me you gaki." Anko said while sending her snakes towards Naruto.

"Sorry Crazy Snake Lady! Boss says I have to go now!" Naruto then started performing hand signs and after a second shouted, **Wind Release: Great Breakthrough**!

Anko was so taken by a surprise that the seven-year old could use jutsu that the attack actually hit her. As it hit, it sent her hard into a tree and when she stood back up there was no sign of Naruto.

"Damn Gaki, fucking with me, who does he think I am?! No one gets away from Anko Mitarashi!" Anko yelled through the forest, not caring that she was the only person that could hear her.

* * *

A year after the "crazy snake lady" incident.

We find our young gaki training with his shadow clones deep inside the forest. The young ninja-to-be needed someone to spar with so the grumpy fox taught him the shadow clone technique. The kyuubi remembered the other yellow idiot using it extensively for various tasks and training while around his old warden. Naruto's mastery of wind chakra became much better during this time, and he was able to derive some of his own simple techniques through the tools he could round up in the forest.

During the year in the forest he had also started picking up taijutsu from the fox; the fox said that the style he would use was a type of strong fist that he called fox style. The style was based around not only overpowering and out speeding your opponent, but also outsmarting them. The style was based around many draws, feints, and awkward stances to make the opponent think you were backed into a corner, or that you had an opening out. Then as they tried to take advantage of that opening the user would quickly counter and try to end the fight with as little damage and time wasted as possible.

To date Naruto had only faced his clones with this style and had progressed well, but Naruto wanted more. He yearned for the challenge of a real opponent in battle, something that his clones could not give him. The young ninja was not blood thirsty that much he knew, but he did seem to thrive off competitive energy. He wanted to test himself against other people his age. As annoying and numerous as his clones were it just wasn't the same.

The kyuubi had long realized this as well and he thought that it was almost time for Naruto to leave the forest and start the ninja academy. Naruto was actually past due to start and it would be a simple matter for him to convince the hokage to let him in. The old fool always had a soft spot for the young Uzumaki.

"_**Gaki it's time for you to finally leave this forest and return to your pathetic excuse for a hokage."**_

"Hokage-JiJi is not pathetic! Hey! Wait?! I can leave finally? Thank kami." Naruto said as he took off for the exit to the forest, not even curious as to why the fox would so suddenly allow him to leave.

Naruto was nearing the exit to the forest that he had grown to hate over the past couple of years. As soon as he was about to break the border, he sensed a chakra that had grown very familiar to him. This was also an advantage of having the kyuubi inside of him he had realized. He could sense people's chakra very easily if he spread his over a portion of the land. Naruto knew that the person had sensed him as well and a plan came into his head as he leaped into a tree with a grin.

"I've got you this time you little bastard!" said Anko with a crazed look in her eyes while she wore her smile that always seemed a little too happy to be safe.

Anko tackled Naruto out of the tree and starting tying him up with a victorious smirk. As soon as she was finished with her handiwork she leapt back and struck a nice Guy pose in victory.

"Not today Crazy Snake Lady-Chan!" Naruto chimed in as smoke appeared in place of where Anko had tied Naruto up. Naruto then went through some hand signs before he appeared over Anko and shouted, "Ninja art: Hidden Paint Bombs". With the technique complete the blonde showered Anko with orange and green paintballs before laughing and running away towards the exit of the forest.

"No,not this time Gaki! I will not be beaten by some bastard child again! I am the great Anko Mitarashi and you will kneel before my awesomeness!" She said as she once again took a dramatic pose, seemingly uncaring that the blonde was already out of the forest.

* * *

Sarutobi was looking into his crystal ball with amusement. It seemed as if his young jinchuriki was finally returning to Konoha proper. _It seems as if he's made a new friend too. What an interesting pair those two will be._ Sarutobi had known where Naruto was since the day after he left. His initial worry over his pupil had faded when he saw him doing formal training and talking to himself in the forest. Sarutobi assumed that the fox had somehow made contact with Naruto. Minato had told Sarutobi that this might happen in the final note he was left, Sarutobi just didn't imagine that it would be so early. Either way Sarutobi had decided to let it happen naturally unless he felt the fox's chakra flare up. It would be quite obvious if the fox's chakra was being used or released after all and Naruto was probably having a better time in the forest outside of the ridicule of the village.

_I'll just have to keep a close eye on him now that he's back. He should do well in the academy now and I can still see that the will of fire burns strongly in him, but he'll still need some guidance._

Sarutobi put his crystal ball in his desk and waited for the ruckus to start, taking a long draw off of his pipe.

"Hokage-same! Hokage-sama! It's Naruto! He's...He's outside." his secretary shouted as she burst through his door.

"Good, send him in." Sarutobi said calmly.

"Hi jiji! Long time no see! I'm back! Believe it!" Naruto yelled as he walked in the door.

"Ahh, yes, I've been expecting you Naruto. Did you enjoy your sabbatical in the woods? I hear the camping is fantastic in the forest of death." Sarutobi said with a smile.

Naruto's smile dropped into a look of confusion, "Jiji you knew where I was?! But crazy-snake-lady-chan told me that they had sent hundreds of search parties for me." Naruto said with a face fault.

"The hokage has his ways of finding information Naruto-kun. It will be years yet before you pull one over on me. Those search parties were merely to sate the council's desire to find their precious jinchuriki." Hiruzen said as he puffed on his pipe. "Now, we still have matters to attend. I'll have to talk it over with the council of course, but you won't be punished. You're currently just a civilian and the forest is Konoha property, even if it is normally off limits, but the punishment for entering the forest is merely a fine. Something I can easily wave."

Naruto smiled "Thank you Jiji! I knew I could count on you! Wait! What's a jinchuriki?" Naruto asked

_**It's you, brat. A jinchiriki is a ninja who acts as a container for a tailed beast. The old man's figured out that we're on speaking terms.**_

Naruto's smile fell off of his face immediately again as he came back to the conversation with the hokage. "You're not going to punish me for talking to the kyuubi are you?"

"Mmm... punish? No, I do need you to tell me how your interactions have been and what all he's taught you out there. That old fox is as cunning as he is powerful. I need to make sure that he hasn't tried to do anything to escape your seal." Hiruzen explained.

_**Just tell him kid, you're too stupid to lie. Soy Sauce... Maybe I wasted my time after all.**_

Naruto explained to Hiruzen his interactions with the kyuubi starting with the dream and ending with his most recent training in the forest.

"Interesting, I don't find too much of this troubling. Although I can't imagine the fox's real motives. I suppose only time will tell. Until then we need to get you enrolled into the academy. Luckily for you, I've had these preparations made for a while in case you decided to show up. You'll be in the same class as all of the clan heirs." Sarutobi said calmly.

"Clan heirs? Why would I want to be in the same class as a bunch of stuck up brats?" Naruto said defiantly.

The old ninja snorted. "I believe you're already familiar with two of them. You used to occasionally play with the Shikamaru and Choji at the park yes?"

"How did you know that!?" Naruto asked in disbelief.

"These eyes may be old Naruto-kun but they still see much. I have one last surprise as well. Your old apartment is... in... less than desirable condition after some of the more hateful villagers vandalizing it and it being unoccupied. As such I've made arrangements for you to stay at the Sarutobi compound. The only way I'm going to be able to convince the council you're still sane is if I can keep a close eye on you and I'm sure my young grandson will enjoy the company." Sarutobi said with a smile.

Naruto's face immediately lit up with excitement. "Really Jiji? You're the best!" Naruto said as he jumped up to hug the old ninja.

* * *

Nearly two years after Naruto left the forest, current age 9. Anko's Age 16.

Naruto had entered his genin class with mixed reviews. The children seemed to have forgotten about their initial outcasting of the blonde haired prankster because of his extended leave of the village. He had, however, forced people to form their own opinions of him. During his first day he managed to prank Iruka several times. Once completely covering him in paint and the other time covering him in feathers so that he looked like an overgrown chicken. He had also made it a point to try to be as friendly as possible. This caused about half of the class to enjoy his disruptions and pranks and the other half to think very poorly of him. It seemed that as of now that it was mostly the Sasuke fan girls that didn't like him. As with Naruto's multiple attempts to lighten the Uchiha's mood the boy seemed to find him annoying and the fan girls responded with their venom. There was one exception to this rule, as Ino seemed to often enjoy the blonde boy's antics, only to be scorned by Sakura.

The Kyuubi made the boy dumb himself down for the class, despite how much he despised the way the boy acted when he did so. Naruto had of coursed asked him why he needed to dumb himself down, the Kyuubi merely said that the element of surprise was a ninja's greatest weapon and the more people who underestimated him the better. The fox also didn't want the hokage or anyone to know that he was communicating with Naruto, as that would cause a headache for him and Naruto would be hated even more, which would make his training much harder.

Today at the academy was a special day, however. This would be the first day that the genin-to-be would officially be sparring with each other. Naruto was extremely excited to finally test his skills after years of pointless book work. On the tests Naruto would purposely get enough wrong to barely pass putting him as the current 'dobe' of the class.

Today would be different though. Naruto planned to flex his muscles a little bit during the sparring. The Kyuubi at first protested but he soon relented when he realized that Naruto wasn't going to give up.

* * *

Later that day Academy Training Grounds

Naruto was beyond excited; he could be seen mixed in with his usual crowd which consisted of Shikamaru, Kiba, Choji, Shino, and Ino. Ino seemed to bounce back between the Sasuke fan group and the small circle of friends that Naruto had formed over the past several years. The two blondes seemed to enjoy each other's company, but Ino hadn't quite shaken her hold of being popular. For the moment, she seemed content with them.

"Naruto sure seems excited today." Choji said while munching his bag of chips. The boys growing cheeks were adorned with red swirls and his hair was a spiky mess of brown. Choji was wearing his normal outfit that consisted of a dual colored green jacket. The bottom half of the jacket was a dark green that separated into a light green at the shoulders. His dark navy pants and sandals finished off the outfit.

"Why wouldn't you be excited Choji? Today is the day we finally get to spar! I've been waiting for this for like two years! All this training dummy crap is for the birds!" Naruto nearly shouted.

"Troublesome" the young Nara muttered while going back to looking at the clouds. The Nara's hair was fashioned into the same pineapple bun that it was always in. He was wearing a gray t-shirt with a yellow and red symbol in the middle. The young Nara's pants and sandals were a dull brown. It was hard to tell as he was lying down, but Naruto remembered that Shika was one of the taller kids in his class.

"But why are you excited Naruto? You're the dead last. One of the fan girls could probably kick you around the field!" said Kiba as he started laughing to himself. Every time Kiba would laugh Naruto could see his fangs, one of which usually rested outside of his mouth. On his cheeks were two long red triangles that everyone in the Inuzuka clan had. His hair was longer and darker than Choji's, coming off of his head in messy spikes rather than standing up. He wore a dark blue jacket that Akamaru would rest in and a fish net top could be seen poking out. He also wore khaki pans and tan sandals. His moment was short-lived though as Ino threw him a quick punch to the jaw.

"Watch it dog breath! We're not all incompetent!" Ino said while nursing her hand. Ino's platinum blonde hair was short, barely down to her shoulders. She had her bangs swept to the side and pinned in the front with a red bobby pin. Her top was pink and red and was complimented by a purple skirt and sandals.

"You just admitted to being a fan girl Ino-san." Retorted Shino with his usual dead pan. Shino was the hardest to see. Naruto had yet to see the boy without his tank hood up or his dark colored goggles. To add to this his button up color extended up his face to the bottom of his nose. You could occasionally see some dark brown hair if you were looking under his hood at the right angle.

"Bu…No…I was just…." Ino stuttered out with an embarrassed look on her face.

"Quiet down Ino-Pig! You and your lame squad are preventing the rest of us from hearing whose butt Sasuke-kun will kick!" Sakura quite hypocritically exclaimed at the top of her lungs.

"Alright class now that we all seem to be paying attention I'm going to announce who will be sparring today. The class will be split into pairs based on their gender. Now first off we will have Shikamaru and Choji. Now if you would both report to the center of the ring so that we can get started." Iruka said in the most commanding voice he could muster.

"Sensei I forfeit, the clouds are much too wonderful today for something as troublesome as a spar." The Nara lazily replied.

"I'm sorry Shikamaru but if you forfeit I will be forced to fail you." Iruka replied.

"If mother found out I failed that would be much more troublesome. Fine let's go Choji." Shikamaru said while getting up in such a matter that it looked like he had just woken up.

Shikamaru and Choji walked up to each other before making the seal of confrontation like they were instructed. Iruka shouted for them to begin and the Nara dropped into a lazy stance while Choji charged forward. Choji attempted a punch at Shikamaru. The Nara was expecting as much from his longtime friend and barely moved out of the way. The young Akimichi was expecting to meet resistance and when he didn't he fell flat on his face. Shikamaru took this chance and delivered a lazy chop to his neck rendering him momentarily incapacitated.

"Winner Shikamaru!" Iruka shouted while the rest of the class chuckled at how easily Choji was taken out.

"That was quite possibly the laziest way I have ever seen anyone win a spar." Kiba commented.

"Shika had the advantage the whole time! Choji's been excited about this all day and probably wasn't thinking like he should have been. Shika used that to his advantage and caught Choji off guard." Naruto yelled with a fist pump!

"Wait! Naruto where did that come from? I thought you were stupid?" Kiba nearly shouted. The rest of the academy laughed along with the fanged student.

"Oh…uhh… hehe sorry I just really like watching fights. Naruto sheepishly exclaimed while scratching the back of his head.

The rest of the students seemed to just write it off as another Naruto moment before the Nara returned with a mutter of troublesome and laid down on the ground to return to cloud watching. After the Nara laid down the group turned back towards Iruka so that they wouldn't miss the next announcement.

"The next sparring match will be between Shino and Kiba!" Iruka shouted loud enough that he was sure everyone would hear it.

"Looks like this is an easy win for me! Sorry Shino, but you're going down." Kiba said with a wide grin on his face.

The young Aburame walked past with his usual deadpan and a nod of his head. As they walked up to the center of the ring the class had formed their group wished them good luck during the match.

The match began with the two facing each other and making the seal of confrontation. As soon as this was finished Kiba charged in at Shino with reckless abandon. Kiba tried to go for a punch straight to Shino's solar plexus and end the fight right there, but he was stopped as the Aburame dodged backwards to gain some distance from the hot-headed Inuzuka. Kiba noticed Shino backing off and grinned, thinking that he was scared of him.

This proved to be false as when he charged in again he was met halfway by Shino, who threw a punch straight to Kiba's jaw. Kiba ducked under it and went for a low sweep of Shino's legs. Shino smiled, not that anyone noticed it, because this is what he assumed Kiba would do. So as soon as Kiba attempted to sweep his legs Shino took to the air and sent an axe kick straight to Kiba's head. Kiba was surprised, but he managed to block the kick with one of his arms and use the other one to punch Shino straight in the temple. Shino was knocked on the ground dazed when Iruka called the match.

Seeing as the match was over Shino stood up and they both gave each other the seal of reconciliation before they walked off. Kiba was smiling and immediately started bragging over his win.

"So Mr. Smarty-pants how did Shino lose that one? It's obvious he knew Kiba was going for the low sweep how did the axe kick not land? Ino asked to Shikamaru.

"Well, while Kiba's move was obvious and he does lack the intelligence that Shino has, Kiba is still much faster and stronger than Shino. His clan is known for their quickness and prowess in taijutsu. Shino on the other hand is much more of a ranged fighter, preferring to use his bugs to strategize and take enemies down from a distance. So even though Shino did everything right it was just a matter of Kiba simply being more experienced in Taijutsu and being quicker." Naruto responded before Shikamaru did and everyone was again shocked.

"Uh… I said I really sparring didn't I?... hehe." Naruto said with his classic foxy grin while trying to figure out a way to move the conversation along.

The rest of the group didn't get time to respond, much to Naruto's luck, but Shikamaru casted Naruto an odd glance, he had been suspicious for a while now, but this pretty much confirmed it.

"The next spar and last spar of the boys shall be between Sasuke and Naruto!" Iruka again shouted making sure the class could hear.

"Go Sasuke!"

"You can do it!"

"Yeah kick the dobe's ass!" was the remark from the Sasuke club on the other side of the circle.

Naruto's group was much less enthusiastic. The general consensus seemed to be somewhere between good luck, and try not to lose too fast.

There was one exception to that, and it seemed to be Shikamaru who just said, "Show him what you've got Naruto." Before giving a small smirk and laying back against his tree in a position to watch the fight from.

This gesture did not pass by the Kyuubi, who knew that Shikamaru was on to Naruto's ruse. The fox sent out a silent prayer to himself that the young Nara would keep the secret well. He then made note to punish Naruto in some form later in the day.

Both fighters approached the ring and Naruto smiled at Sasuke. "Good luck Sasuke! I hope you'll enjoy losing as much as I will winning!" Naruto punctuated the statement by making a "V" with his fingers and smiling. The sun reflected of his smile perfectly, in what was almost assuredly a genjutsu, and somewhere a man in green was crying in pride.

"Humph" was Sasuke's only response as he dropped into the typical opening stance of his clan.

"You know Sasuke, in that stance the hair on your head almost looks like the rear of a duck… wait that's it! Your new name is Ducks Ass!" Naruto responded with a sly smile. To him the fight had already begun as he was trying to get into Sasuke's head and tempt him into making the first move. As both fighters relied on counters it would be a boring start if Sasuke didn't charge in first.

That seemed to get to Sasuke as he glared at Naruto before making the seal of confrontation. Naruto quickly returned the gesture and Sasuke charged in. Naruto had already expected it though and quickly back flipped to create some distance. Naruto landed in a rather odd stance and started to fall over though. Sasuke saw this and smiled, thinking that the fight would be over before it started. Sasuke went in for a quick punch to Naruto's stomach, but was shocked when Naruto grabbed his hand and used the momentum he had from landing to throw Sasuke backwards.

After Sasuke landed on the ground with a thud Naruto flipped once again and landed a heel to Sasuke's gut knocking the wind out of him. He finished the short fight by placing a hand near Sasuke's throat. "Dead" was the only thing that Naruto said before making the seal of reconciliation and walking away. Sasuke didn't return the gesture and only glared at his backside before walking to the corner he was originally from. _When did the Dobe get so strong, how did he surpass me, or was it like this the whole time? No it couldn't have been, I was just rash. There simply isn't a way the dobe could have actually beat me in a fight. The next time we'll fight I'll have unlocked my Sharingan and I'll beat him before he even knows what he was going to do._

Naruto was quite apathetic about the win however, he was expecting something more out of the young Uchiha and he decided that if he ever wanted a good fight he'd have to keep the Uchiha interested and make sure he was training twice as hard. He shook the thoughts off quickly and smiled. Naruto wasn't one to shy away from attention and his peers wanted to celebrate with him.

"Wow Naruto that was great you kicked that Ducks ass'….ass?" Kiba said as he confused himself with the poor choice of words.

"Yes, that was indeed the impressive victory Uzumaki-san." Shino said while looking as disinterested as always.

"Great job Naruto! I didn't think you had it in ya!" Choji mumbled while slapping Naruto on the back with his free hand.

"What a troublesome outcome, the fan girls will scream about this for hours on end." Shikamaru said, but he gave Naruto a genuine smile and nod.

"That was great Naruto-kun!" Ino exclaimed before becoming quite embarrassed as the other girls glared at her. "I knew you could do it." She finished at barely a whispered as she quickly gave him a hug and ran off.

"Well class it seems there have been some rather surprising outcomes today! This will surely update the class rankings. They will be posted tomorrow! You're dismissed for the day." Iruka said with a sigh, he still wasn't sure but he knew there was something off about Naruto as well. The Chūnin couldn't quite place it, but he knew that Naruto hid his abilities. He decided not to say anything however, knowing that most of what he heard of the boy was just gossip from the other, more hateful instructors.

* * *

**That ends this chapter. Read and review tell me what you think of it! Also any grammatical errors and etc. Can be pointed out in the reviews. I will try to quickly get them adjusted, I don't really have a beta and it's hard for me to pick out my own mistakes at times.**

**Two things I want to touch upon here. Anko is older than Naruto, by 7 years. I think this is a generally good age for her to be, but I'm not sure yet it might increase or decrease, I'll update you if it does. That does mean that she was 14 and barely a Chūnin at the time of the first forest incident, so don't be like Anko is a tokubetsu Jōnin! She can kick Naruto's ass, and she totally could. She was mostly caught by surprise.**

**The second thing is Anko will be the main interest; this isn't and won't be a harem. I just don't think it's likely that Anko will be the only girl Naruto dates his entire life. He is a lady-killer after all.**

**Also as I said fast progression for pre genin training. Thank you for your time! Please tell me what you think.**


	3. Graduation

**AN: Updated some of the things in chapter 1 and 2. Tried to address some problems people pointed out and I added a scene with Sarutobi in chapter 2.**

**Other big change was the jutsu that Naruto learned in the forest and his interaction with Anko!**

Normal

_Thought_

_**Demon talk**_

**Jutsu**

* * *

**Academy graduation**

Naruto was on top of the Hokage Rock, looking out over the city that he'd grown to love again. The gentle breeze felt wonderful against his skin today, it was rare that he got to see the city so early in the morning. Normally he'd be training with Jiji, but he had been given the day off for graduation. Jiji said that it was an important and busy day for both of them, and he was right. Naruto wasn't nervous, but he couldn't help but feel excited. Today was the day that the rest of his life would start, the day he had been training for since the fox took him into the forest. Today was his first major step towards becoming the hokage.

Speaking of the fox, he hadn't been speaking much at all. Gone were the days of his punishments, weird perverted quips and philosophical sayings. Kyuubi really only spoke to Naruto when spoken too now. Naruto couldn't say he minded the change, but there was a small part of him that missed the back and forth with the fox.

He sighed and looked up towards the sun, it would be time for him to arrive at the academy soon. Naruto rose from the ground and dusted his orange jumpsuit off. Naruto was earing his classic orange jumpsuit. Blue adorned his shoulders and waist. His blonde hair was spiked and he wore a bandage on his right thigh. After dusting himself off he stretched out, not unlike a cat, and began his slow walk down the hill and towards the academy. As Naruto was walking he thought of how his time at the academy had changed. The spar with Sasuke really set things in motion and made it impossible for him to hide his talents. When Iruka-sensei updated the class rankings again Naruto found himself just below the middle of the pack. He was going to try to stay in the middle to avoid more attention that was necessary, but the fox gave him permission to go crazy.

_**There's nothing one as dumb as you could do to hide now. **_Kurama let a sharp blast of air out of his nose. _**Perhaps the best place for us to hide is in plain site. Climb the ranks naturally, but hide your training with the old monkey to the best of your ability.**__ Naruto recalled the old fax saying._

Naruto nearly jumped out of his skin as he was torn from his reminiscing, he was met with the flustered face of Ino, who was clearly not happy with being ignored. "Oh hey Ino-Chan! Sorry, you know how I am in the mornings." Naruto said with his classic grin.

Ino rolled her eyes, "Baka, how are you ever going to make it as a ninja if you can't even get that pea brain of yours to function before noon? The enemies aren't going to wait to attack you like I am you know? They should honestly just put us on a team together, I'm the only one they can trust to wake you up after all." Ino had now shed her pink outfit and grown out her platinum blonde hair. A long blonde bang fell over her right eye and the rest of her hair was tied back into a ponytail. She wore a sleeveless purple top with lavender colored forearm sleeves. The top stopped at her midriff and on her waist she wore a purple skirt open on both sides. Through the openings in her clothe's you could see that Ino's thighs and torso were covered in bandages. A kunai holder rested on her right thigh. Ino smelled of lilac today.

"Yeah that would be great Ino-chan! Your beautiful smile and yelling are the perfect morning motivation" Naruto said while rubbing his chin in a "thinker" pose. "The more I think about this the better of an idea it is, you're an amazing support ninja and proficient in some medical ninjutsu already. With me as a front-line attacker and you backing me up and patching up all my mistakes I'm sure we would be unstoppable!"

Ino's blush was lost on Naruto as she quickened her pace to be in front of him, "W…Well of course baka, who wouldn't be begging to have Konoha's most beautiful and talented kunoichi on their team? It would be hard cleaning up after all your dumb mistakes but I'm sure I could handle it"

"I would hate to rain on your love parade, but if betting weren't so troublesome I'd have my money on them resurrecting the Ino-Shika-Cho team. I wouldn't get your hopes up. Besides…. I fear that having Konoha's two most troublesome blondes on one team would bode horribly for the Jonin." Said Shikamaru as he shuffled towards them with a yawn. Shikamaru's outfit had changed just as drastically in the past 3 years. He now wore a fish-net top that was covered with a gray jacket that opened in the middle and stopped about halfway down his torso. The jacket was lined with green and his clan symbols could be seen on both sleeves. His capri pants were brown and accompanied with blue sandals. His right knee was bandaged and on top of the bandage rested his kunai holder.

Naruto and Ino both turned around blushing and started yelling at Shikamaru for his comment on their growing closeness.

"Ugh troublesome, wake me up when you're done yelling" said the young Nara as he pretended to be sleep walking.

"It's a little early in the day to be pretending to be sleep walking, Shikamaru. Did Naruto and Ino have their first fight or something?" said Kiba as he walked up with a shit eating grin, Kiba, even more than most of their friends, wasn't afraid to poke at the blondes. Kiba was wearing his normal ninja outfit as well. A gray jacket with a black fur lined hood and sleeves that covered his hair. The jacket extended past his waist and led into his gray pants and standard issue blue sandals. Kiba's right knee was also bandaged and held his kunai holder.

"Dog-breath baka, Naruto wishes that were the case. Like I would be caught dead in a relationship with this idiot." Said Ino as she tried to wipe her blush away with a mock face of disgust.

"Yeah! And there's no way I could deal with her yelling all the time! I'd go deaf in a week" Naruto shouted.

"Baka take that back! You love my yelling, you just said so!"

"Do not!"

"Do to!"

"Now Naruto and Ino let's get along today…. We're gonna need all the energy we can get to make sure that we can… pass the test today." Said Choji between mouthfuls as he waddled up to the group. Choji now fixed his brown hair into two distinct spikes on either side of the top of his head. A green jacket and long white scarf covered most of a yellow t-shirt with the Akimichi sybol underneath in red. All of Choji's lower limbs were bandaged and he held his kunai on the same leg as the rest of his class.

"Fine! Hmph"! The blondes said in unison.

"So why do you guys wear your kunai holsters so low on your leg? Doesn't it like get in the way of running? How do you even get your kunai out? I know your arms aren't that long." Ino asked

Naruto yawned "Well, Ino-chan a lot of my maneuvers in the air with my clones require my legs to be tucked into my body. If it were on my thigh, it would be awkward to open in that position. You're right though, it is a bother the rest of the time."

"Much less troublesome to get to when I'm sitting for my clan jutsu"

"I... just did it because Naruto-kun and Shikamaru-kun did it that... way." Choji said inbetween munches again.

"I...umm... you know when I'm ummm..." Kiba stuttered out.

"Dog-breath just wants to be like me!" Naruto said as laughed.

"I do not, dobe! That's just you know what Iruka always did!" Kiba shouted back.

"He wears it on his thigh too! Awww Kiba! It's so cute that you want to be like Naruto-baka. Maybe you'll be as good as him someday!" Ino said, enjoying her payback.

The group continued to bicker back and forth until they finally arrived at the academy and entered their seats.

* * *

On the other side of the town, the Hokage's office was quickly filling up with the future Jonin-Sensei of the rookie 9. The last Jonin to enter the office, to no one's surprise, was the white-haired, former Anbu, Kakashi Hatake. The man appeared at the window in a swirl of leaves and slinked in while rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry everyone, there was a little old lady that needed help carrying her groceries and who would have guessed that she lived all the way by the border to the land of lightning?" said the Jonin with an eye-smile.

"Yes, yes Kakashi I'm sure we are all aware of your struggles with the winding paths of life by now." Hiruzen sighed "Now that were all here I would like to talk about the genin team assignments this year, I believe I will be able to satisfy all of your requests while keeping the teams as balanced as possible. There will be a slight change in one of the teams this year."

"Oh, and what might that be Oyaji? It's rare for the formula to be messed with in times of peace" questioned Asuma.

"Yes, while that is true, it seems as if one troublesome blonde, and another troublesome Jonin have given me reason to deviate. As you all know, there's always a genin team that consists of the academies top scoring ninja, top scoring kunoichi, and the lowest scoring of the academy. Kakashi and Guy, in particular, will be familiar with this format as they were included on this type of genin team. This year, however, we will be doing something different. Kakashi for obvious reasons has requested the young Uchiha be on his genin team, the council is also heavily in favor of this. This appeared to be a perfect fit at first as it would go with Kakashi's second request, to have our young Naruto on his team as well." Sarutobi smoothly stated as he took a drag of his pipe.

"Then it would seem the rumors I've been hearing of Naruto-san's rapid improvement at the sarutobi compound have been true. By what measure has he improved?" asked Kurenai

"Yes, I'm sure it's obvious yo you all that I've had a direct hand in Naurto's training, but I would appreciate if that would stay between everyone in this room. The elders would be... less than happy to know I've been interfering in his training. Naruto is now the third ranked male in the class, the young Nara being the second ranked. Now, knowing that this will likely be an unpopular decision with the council, I have decided to keep with Kakashi's request to have Naruto on his Genin team. Kakashi has a skillset that will allow him to contain the boys…quirks, and I believe that the friendly rivalry between Naruto and Sasuke will allow them to advance quicker than if they were separated." Hiruzen took another drag off his pipe and paused for a second to think.

"Now to keep the teams in some sort of balance, I have decided to attach the lowest ranked kunoichi that is likely to pass the exam, Sakura Haruno, are there any objections to this team that will be henceforth known as team 7?"

None of the Jonin in the room spoke up, so Hiruzen continued with his briefing. "Now, for the other teams. Team 8, who will be under Kurenai, will consist of Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata Hyuuga, and Shino Aburame."

"Hai Hokage-sama, I will not let you down" said Kurenai as she formed a salute.

Sarutobi nodded and continued "Team 9 is still on active duty under Might guy, so that leaves team 10. I'm sure you are all shocked to hear that this will be the Ino-Shika-Cho team and will be led by Asuma Sarutobi."

"Hai Oyaji" Said Asuma with a grin, he had already taken a liking to his comrades kids.

"Before I dismiss you all, let me remind you of one thing." Said Sarutobi as he started to get up and put on his coat. "I'm sure most of you are aware, as I've heard reports of you checking in with Iruka-sensei at the academy, but this isn't a normal genin class. Not only are these genin mostly clan heirs, but they've also seem to take well to Naruto and Sasuke's rivalry. Assuming they're all around Naruto-kun's level this class might already be more advanced than Guy's current team 9. I entrust to you all what will likely be the best class of ninja that Konoha has ever produced."

"Yosh! The flames of youth burn brightly in this new class of genin! Kakashi! My eternal rival. I'll show you just how brightly the flames of youth burn for my team!" Gai shouted as he entered a nice-guy pose.

"I'll leave you all at that then, you're dismissed."

The room emptied with a few swirls of leaves and the Hokage walked out the door while puffing on his pipe. _The Youth are always too excited to use the shunshin. The cherry blossoms are much too pretty to fly by._

* * *

**AN: Short chapter, sorry. Next chapter will be up tomorrow though and will be the longest one yet.**

**Don't forget to read and review! I'm usually pretty good about replying to my reviews, whether they be praise or criticism :).**

**-rantsulk**


	4. Bell test

Normal

_Thought_

_**Demon talk**_

**Jutsu**

**I just realized I haven't mentioned in a while. Naruto is 13 along with the rest of the rookie 9. Anko is 20.**

* * *

"This is SO STUPID!" Sakura screamed after pacing the room for the final time. "We've been here for hours….HOURS! When's our lazy ass sensei going to get here?

Sasuke looked at her with a blank expression. He had been trying to pass the time by reflecting on his morning training session, but even he was getting bored. Sakura was right, it had been hours since they were initially assigned to their teams. That had been… interesting to say the least. Naruto's look of extreme disappointment when he wasn't paired with Ino was matched only by Ino's own look of disapproval and Shikamaru's rejoice. The three always had a weird dynamic, but at least the dobe had taken one of the most annoying girls out of his hair. Sasuke stood and stretched his legs a little, trying his best to avoid catching eye contact with Sakura. After the first hour of Sasuke responding curtly she had given up on her attempts to woo him for the day, and he wasn't about to give her any encouragement to start again.

"Dobe"

Naruto rose his head slowly and looked up at him. Sasuke's suspicion that he weren't sleeping were correct. Naruto would never have been that easy to wake up.

"Is this normal for our sensei? Should we be doing something?"

"How the hell should I know?! The only time I've ever seen Kakashi was when I was coming back in from the forest and joined the academy, and when he would occasionally be in Jiji's office after a misison. He's always eye-smiling at me though." Naruto said while scratching the back of his head in thought.

"Eye Smile?"

"Well… ano… he wears a mask you see! So his eye was kind of shut like he was smiling."

"BAKA, DOBE, how can an eye possibly smile? You're so stupid I swear, no wonder Sasuke's so much better than you." Sakura added with a grin.

"You're the baka! I kick this duck ass's ass all the time! I'm the best believe it!" Naruto exclaimed with his foxy grin and victory pose.

Sakura opened her mouth, ready to defend her beloved when she noticed a white haired ninja walking in the door. The ninja wore a navy mask over the bottom part of his face that looked built into a skin tight body suit. He wore his Hitai-ate over his left eye, leaving his right eye as the only part of his face showing. Over his navy body suit he wore the classic green chuunin vest with navy pants. On one leg was a kunai holder and the other leg appeared to have bandages over the thigh. The eye that Kakashi let show was formed into what the three could only describe as an eye smile.

"See I told you! His eye is clearly smiling at us." Naruto said while pointing at Kakashi in victory.

"Now, now I didn't think that my cute little genin would find themselves in a state of inner turmoil so quickly. We can't be having that now can we? Especially when I seem to be the source of the argument. Why don't we…" Kakashi started, but was cut off halfway

"Where have you been sensei? We've been waiting for HOURS. What kind of ninja keeps their own team waiting for that long? This is the kind of message you're sending us already? I've got half a mind to report you to the Hokage. Sasuke-kun deserves a sensei that will respect him and show up on time." Sakura interrupted.

Naruto and Sasuke both stared at Sakura blankly and scooted towards Kakashi slowly while Sakura was talking. They both had done some research on the Jonin in the village that were normally selected to lead genin teams, and Kakashi was certainly not a ninja to be trifled with.

"Well you see my cute little genin, I was walking across the street when a black cat crossed my path. I couldn't very well continue that way and risk the bad luck that it would bring. So I had to take the long way to the academy and I guess I just got lost on the road of life along the way. "

"Now, if we're done interrupting why don't we meet on the roof as fast as possible?" Kakashi instructed, never breaking the eye smile. Shortly after he was finished talking he vanished in a swirl of leaves.

"Race you, teme"

"Hmph"

Naruto and Sasuke took off running towards the window leaving a bewildered looking Sakura.

"Hey…hey wait! Sasuke! Why don't we go together?" she said as she starting running out the door.

Naruto was the first out the window, but barely, and latched onto the wall using chakra. "Watch this teme. You're going to be left in the dust now that I can run on the wall using my chakra!" Naruto said while looking towards where he thought Sasuke would be on the ground with a smug look. Naruto was surprised to find that Sasuke was not there and even more surprised when he saw Sasuke on the wall above him.

"Dumbass, you think I'd let a dobe like you be a step ahead of me? I've been doing this for weeks."

Naruto's face became serious and he started running up the wall as quickly as he could. He had underestimated Sasuke and he was going to pay for it. Naruto almost caught up to Sasuke, but the head start that he let Sasuke have proved to be too much and Sasuke arrived at Kakashi sensei first.

"Cheater! How did you figure out that you could use chakra to climb on the walls?"

"Well unlike you Dobe I read, the village library has all kinds of useful information, but I don't suppose people like you would know that." Sasuke said with a barely noticeable grin on his face. That was only half of the truth though. During one of his spars with Naruto, Naruto had used chakra to hold onto Sasuke's chest when he caught him in a grapple. Sasuke then went to the library and saw mention of ninja's training chakra control by running on trees and put two and two together.

Naruto kissed his teeth. This was his loss to hold and he knew that, but his annoyance was still palpable. If the fox weren't being such a recluse lately it would have probably given him a lecture on not underestimating his opponent and keeping his hand close to his chest. _"Yeah, I don't even need the stupid fox. I can give myself meaningless words of wisdom."_

The three waited wordlessly for Sakura, who came running out of the doorway on the roof after about 30 seconds. She slowed down upon seeing the three ninja waiting on her, taking an extra breath in her mouth and out of her nose to slow her breathing. Kakashi noticed her change in breathing as well as the pink tint to her cheeks, but didn't say anything. Her embarrassment would be enough fuel for her in the future.

"Now that we're all here why don't we get to know each other a little better? Start one at a time?" Kakashi instructed.

"Well what are we supposed to say?" Sakura asked.

"You know, just things you like, things you hate, and hobbies and dreams that sort of thing." Kakashi said "Why don't we start with the blonde one?"

"My names Naruto Uzamaki believe it! My likes are instant ramen, training, and I really like going to Ichiraku's with my friends! I hate the three minutes it takes for instant ramen to cook, loud women and slackers. My hobbies are training, eating ramen, and watching the clouds. My dream is to become the hokage, dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed while jumping up and flashing his signature grin.

_Well Naruto sure gets a lot from his parents. Hot headed like his mother, quick learning and serious like his father. Pretty much exactly what Sarutobi described him as I'm glad he hasn't lost his charm in the forest. He seems to have advanced much more quickly than I ever would have imagined too, maybe the Hokage's theory is correct…_

"Well why don't you go next, pinky"

"My names Sakura Haruno. My likes are…" and Sakura glance over at Sasuke and blushed. "My hobbies are…" Sakura looked at Sasuke again and blushed harder. "And my dreams are…" Sakura took one final glance at Sasuke and started giggling. "I hate LOUD BLONDE people!" Sakura yelled as she looked at Naruto who was poorly suppressing a look of annoyance.

_Well I suppose she's one of the girls that are more interested in boys than in ninja training. Her physical description from Iruka was spot on, I'm surprised she did so well in the testing though. She must be much more book smart than she lets on. Perhaps I can use her infatuation with the duck haired one as motivation…_

"Last but not least, let's hear it from the cool guy." Kakashi said with an eye smile.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha, I hate slackers and weaklings. I like cats and dango. My hobbies include training and reading at the library. My dream, no my ambition, is to kill a certain man and rebuild my clan."

_Well he's much more cheerful than I thought actually. It seems what Iruka was saying about Naruto rubbing off on him is true. I can hardly believe he admitted to liking anything at all. I assume his recent improvements have been because of Naruto's then. This will be interesting. If they play their cards right they might just become a fine team in the future._

"Excellent! Now that we all know each other…" Kakashi started.

"But Kakashi sensei you never told us anything about yourself." Sakura said

"I guess that's true… let's see. I'm Kakashi Hatake. Things I like and hate… there are certainly a lot of them. As for my hobbies... I have many. I guess I really haven't thought of my dreams." Kakashi said with his eye looking towards the sky in thought.

The three young ninjas sweat dropped and fell back a little.

"But sensei that didn't tell us anything at all!" Naruto yelled

"Moving on! Congratulations on passing the genin exam you three, but the real test will start tomorrow. Meet me at training ground 7 at 8 sharp. Make sure you don't eat before you come and get a full night's sleep. Only 30% of genin pass this test and the rest are sent back to the academy!" Kakashi said with an eye smile.

"Back to the academy? Haven't we already passed the test?" Sasuke said.

"Do you really think that the only thing you need to become a genin is to pass a written exam and perform 3 simple jutsu? The ninja world is an unforgiving place. Many of you will die, it comes with the job. We would be a failure of a village if we sent you off to die unprepared like that. So, no. The real test is tomorrow and I'll be conducting it." Kakashi said as he vanished with a shunshin.

Naruto and Sasuke both kissed their teeth in unison. "What an annoying obstacle. Don't fail dobe."

"Just try not to be too jealous when I pass and you don't teme." Naruto said with a grin.

"Aren't you two nervous at all? He said only 30% of genin pass this test!" Sakura said, noticeably panicked.

"Not really, if you haven't noticed Sakura no one in our class is a normal genin." Naruto said with a bored expression.

"What do you mean normal?" Sakura said emphasizing normal

"Well we have 6 clan heirs with Hinata, Shino, Choji, Shika, Ino-chan, and Kiba. Then there's Sasuke and I, who can hardly be considered normal even from a crop of clan heirs. Hell, as much as I hate to admit it even you're doing better than the average fresh genin." Naruto said while scratching his chin.

"Really? You think so? How can you tell? You've been around just as long as I have!" Sakura said as her excitement faded into embarrassment.

"Have you ever noticed how poorly the class below us performs in pretty much everything? The average kid in that class can barely pass the kunai target test." Sasuke added as he jumped off the building.

Sakura's cheeks became red as she realized that she hadn't noticed that. In fact she can hardly remember a time when she noticed the other years being on the academy training ground at all.

"See you tomorrow Sakura. Don't be late."

Naruto jumped off the building as well. Leaving Sakura a long walk home, alone. She had much to think about that night.

* * *

**Training Ground 7, 11 am the next day**

Kakashi was watching his team from the trees nearby to see how they would respond to him being late again. Kakashi was legitimately tardy to his team meeting, but only by 30 minutes. The rest of the time was spent watching.

_They seem to be handling this much better than I expected. Sasuke and Naruto have been doing some sparing and training since I arrived and it looks like Sakura is taking this more seriously than I expected as well. It's probably time to show myself then. I have to meet up with Guy, Kurenai and Asuma at 2._

"Careful now you two, I wouldn't want my cute little genin to tucker out before the test begins." Kakashi said with an eye smile

"Where have you been sensei? It's been 3 hours AGAIN, I am starving." Sakura shouted.

"Now, now, I saw a cute little old lady trying to cross the street with her groceries and I couldn't let her walk alone in good conscious. So I took the groceries and walked her all the way across town to her house. After we got there she just insisted that she paid me back in some way so we had a nice brunch together."

"You ATE? You told us not to! This isn't fair!" Sakura yelled.

Naruto and Sasuke grunted in agreement.

Kakashi ignored Sakura's yelling totally and began to explain the rules. "This is called the bell test. I'm going to set this timer on my hip for 10 minutes. You'll be able to use whatever techniques you think are necessary to grab a bell off of my hip. The two that succeed in grabbing the bells will be allowed on the team, while the one without the bell will be sent back to the academy. Any questions?"

The three remained silent. Sasuke and Naruto were deep in thought while Sakura was trying her best not to let panic cross her face. It was obvious who would be grabbing the bells out of the three of them.

"Good then let's start! And remember come at me with intent to kill or you'll never land a hit." Kakashi jumped backwards into the middle of the field as he finished. He reached into his bag pulling out a timer and a book. He sat the timer beside him and pulled the book up to read while he sat down.

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura all jumped into the trees at different points and hid from Kakashi.

_Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit. What am I going to do if I go back to the academy? I guess I don't deserve to be here with Sasuke-kun._

_ A 2 man genin team? That's totally unheard of. What kind of idiot does he take me for?_

_ What would the dumbass fox tell me? Kakashi sensei said 30% of the genin pass this test. That doesn't make any sense. Shouldn't 60% pass? Maybe only one bell gets grabbed on average. Come to think of it Iruka-sensei said we'd be grouped in teams of three. I've never heard of a team with 2 genin on it. Oh that's what the arrogant fox would say…_

Naruto quickly made 2 clones that went to where Sasuke and Sakura were hiding. Sasuke saw the clone and realized what was happening quickly, but Sakura was surprised when she saw the clone coming.

"Naruto? What are you doing here? Don't tell me you're trying to prevent Sasuke-Kun from getting a bell!" Sakura whispered.

"I'm just a clone actually, boss wanted me to ask you if you've ever heard of a 2 man genin team. Konoha always does 3 man teams plus the jonin-sensei." The clone explained

Sakura looked confused for a split second until the light bulb went off. "I shouldn't have panicked! I'm embarrassed I had to be told by you, dobe. We've got to tell Sasuke-kun!"

"He knows, follow me."

"Well Dobe, we're gathered here. What's the plan?" Sasuke asked.

"Actually… I don't know… hehe" Naruto said while scratching the back of his head. "I was hoping that you two would be able to help with that."

"Well we know each other's abilities from sparring all of the time. I'm sure we both can make a good guess at what Sakura can do. Kakashi-sensei will be expecting us to fight by ourselves. Why don't we use that to our advantage?"

"Great idea Sasuke-kun! Why don't we use Naruto's clones to our advantage while we distract Kakashi?"

"That's actually a really good idea. If we go out first and get beaten back we should be able to get his guard down. After a couple failed attempts separately we can start giving off the vibe that we're frustrated. Once we think we've got Kakashi fooled I'll replace us with clones and we can make a coordinated sneak attack from another angle." Naruto said.

"Works for me. I'll go out first. Just don't fuck this up Dobe. If I go back to that academy it's your head." Sasuke said as he took off for Kakashi.

"Oh. One of my cute little genin is finally coming out to play?"

Sasuke responded by throwing a handful of shuriken at Kakashi, who barely moved to dodge out of the way. Sasuke used this slight distraction to close the gap as quickly as possible while pulling out his kunai. Once the gap was closed he unleashed a flurry of strikes towards Kakashi, who dodged them all without looking from his book. Sasuke pulled back and went through a string of hand signs ending on tiger. **Fire Release: Great Fireball**

As Sasuke finished his technique a huge ball of flames headed towards Kakashi. Sasuke, wasting no time used the fireball as cover to run to the side and place shuriken all around the white haired ninja, cutting off his escape.

Kakashi closed his book with a sigh. _I'm surprised I'm being forced to pay attention already. The reports of this genin class being advanced were true. Better deal with Sasuke so I can get back to reading._

Sasuke watched the fireball and Shuriken hit Kakashi and smirked. _Some jonin he is. Even the dobe would have dodged that attack._ Sasuke's smirk turned to shock as he saw the burned log in place of where Kakashi was standing._ Shit I underestimated him_.

Sasuke's thought was cut short as he felt a hand grab his foot. **Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu.**

"Well that's one taken care of. I wonder where my other two cute genin are." Kakashi said as he pulled his book back out.

"Better put that back down! Now it's time for the real deal. Believe it!" Naruto said as he jumped out of the forest. He brought his fingers up to a cross **Shadow Clone Jutsu**. 5 Naruto's appeared around him and charged into action. The first jumped in front of Kakashi and was hit with a chop to the neck. The second and third surrounded Kakashi and threw shuriken at him, forcing him to jump. "I've got you now!" Naruto shouted from above. Kakashi looked up and a clone was preparing to punch him to the ground. The white haired ninja sighed and put his book away again. He grabbed the falling shadow clone and threw it into one of the ones below him. Kakashi then threw two kunai at the other two on the ground, dispelling them as well.

"If clones are the only trick up your sleeve you'll have to do better than that." Kakashi said in a bored tone.

Naruto summoned more clones that surrounded Kakasi. _This again? Maybe I was wrong. I really thought Naruto had more up his sleeve than just rushing at me with his clones. _Kakashi dispelled the clone in front of him with a swift kick and ducked under a kunai from another clone. He was about to attack the clone that threw the kunai when it suddenly transformed into Naruto. Naruto threw a shuriken at Kakashi who began to duck under it in surprise. **Shuriken clone Jutsu. **Kakashi's eye widened in surprise as there were now much too many shuriken to dodge in the way he intended. He flipped through hand signs. **Earth Style: Earth wall. **A large wall erupted and blocked the shuriken. Kakashi used the distraction of the wall to kick the real Naruto back into a tree who then slumped over.

"Well I suppose that just leaves one." Kakashi said as he looked over to where Sakura was standing.

Kakashi wasn't surprised to see that she was attempting to free Sasuke from his prison in the ground. _Pathetic. I was surprised by Naruto and Sasuke's ability, but they're still years away from landing a decent hit on me. I guess this will be another failed team. The council's going to hate me._

Sakura final succeeded in getting Sasuke out of the ground, who then wasted no time charging Kakashi.

"Pitiful. You three will never pass at this rate and time is ticking away."

Sasuke grunted in anger and tried to engage Kakashi in taijutsu. Kakashi dodged for a few seconds before kicking Sasuke to the side. To his surprise Sasuke dispelled in a poof of smoke. _What the…_ Kakashi didn't get to finish his thought before he heard.

** Fire release: Great Fireball**

** Wind release: Pressure damage**

The techniques combined into a massive fireball that moved much more quickly than the first one. Kakashi barely had time to dodge in his surprise. He jumped to the side only to see a mass of shuriken heading at him from both sides. _Shit I guess this was their plan all along. Still it's going to fall a little short. _Kakashi jumped in the air dodging both masses of shuriken only to feel arms grab around him. He struggled but couldn't free himself from the attackers grasp.

"Now Sakura" On cue Sakura threw a Shuriken at Naruto and Kakashi as they were in freefall that missed both of the ninja. Kakashi kicked Naruto off of him, finally shaking himself out of his surprise.

"That was pretty good. You guys almost got me there. It's a shame that last shuriken missed me. That's not going to work again now and you're almost out of time." Kakashi said as he landed. Kakashi looked around to see Sasuke smirking at him and Sakura staring at him in glee. He turned to Naruto only to see him holding both bells with a grin.

"I supposed you weren't aiming at me." Kakashi said with an eye-smile. He picked up the time off of the ground and ran the rest of the time out before putting it in his bag. "Good job you three. I never expected you to work together so quickly, and with such powerful attacks. If I was any less skilled you may have actually caused some damage.

"You're just lucky we pulled that last punch Kakashi-sensei. We had you dead to rights."

"I did it! We did it! I can't believe it I'm so happy. Did you see that Sasuke-kun?"

"Not bad for a plan from the dobe."

"Normally I'd take this time to lecture you three on the importance of teamwork and trusting your comrades, but it seems like you managed to do that yourselves. This is the first time I've ever had genin pass the bell test. Excellent work, I'm more than happy to officially pronounce us as team 7. Why don't we take a break to eat and I'll explain what will happen from here on out?" Kakashi stated.

"Sound good to me! I'm starving!" Naruto said cheerfully.

"Agreed!"

"Finally! I was withering away from starving all morning!" Sakura exclaimed as she jumped in the air.

* * *

**Dinner time at Yakiniku Q**

Kakashi walked into Yakiniku Q and was greeted by the hostess that was normally at the restaurant during dinner. He was pretty sure that Tamura was her name. He should probably remember after what happened the last time they met. He inspected Tamura more intricately, her kimono hid her figure well. The gown made her look much plainer than she looked in her clothes at the bar.

"Here with the usual crowd Kakashi-kun?" she said with a soft smile and blush.

"Why yes I am, could you point me to their room Tamura?" Kakashi replied with an eye smile.

Tamura responded by turning towards one of the restaurants many separators and pointing. "They're probably almost done eating by now, I had the servers hold some steak back for you though, I know it's your favorite!"

"Always such a blessing to have you as my hostess, Tamura. It's nice when people understand getting lost on the road of life." Kakashi responded as he walked to the separated room that held his friends. To Kakashi's surprise he saw all of the genin that passed this year's exams in one of the rooms. _Must be out to celebrate as well_. Kakashi brushed the thought aside and continued until he was greeted by the sight of his friends.

"Well if it isn't my eternal rival! I'm glad you could join us while we feed the flames of our youth on this barbeque!" guy shouted as he sprang up to greet Kakashi.

"Well look what the cat dragged in. We were starting to wonder if you would make it at all. It's unusual for you to be 45 minutes late." Asuma said while puffing on a cigarette.

"Glad you could make it Kakashi. The hostess you like saved you some food, I believe." Kurenai said as she looked over at Asuma with an annoyed expression.

"Good to see you dog breathe. What took you so long? Did the council ride your ass for failing their precious Sasuke-kun?" Anko laughed.

"Actually I'm late because I passed them. The hokage's briefing on genin procedure held me up. So don't worry Anko, you're precious little gaki passed." Kakashi said with his patented eye smile.

"Hmph not that he means anything to me. I'm just interested in him after he spent all of that time in the forest is all. The great and wonderful Anko Mitarashi would never worry about such an obnoxious brat."

"You know what they say Anko-chan. Birds of a feather flock together." Kakashi said.

"Hey! Don't ever compare me to that brat again!" Anko yelled with a mouthful of steak.

"Yosh! The flames of youth burn ever brighter as my eternal rival joins us." Guy interrupted as he took out a notepad and started scribbling wildly.

"So how did they manage to pass Kakashi? As far as I was aware the pink haired one hated Naruto, and Sasuke and Naruto don't seem too fond of each other." Asuma asked

"I was surprised too. I'm sure you're all aware by now of just how advanced this genin class is. I would even put them on par with Guy's team at this point in time. Naruto and Sasuke are fonder of each other than they let on, and they definitely share a bond as rivals. It was that mutual respect that allowed them to cooperate with each other and pass the test. The team didn't seem to be panicked at all at the thought of going back to the academy either, this is the first team that I've had work through the test with a clear head to see in-between the lines. Not to mention they're prowess in combat. I was almost hit several times by Sasuke and Naruto both and I'm sure their last combination attack would have killed me if I didn't start to take them a little seriously." Kakashi recalled as he began to skewer his meat to roast on the fire.

"Hmmm… before today I probably would have been shocked by this news, but you're certainly right Kakashi-san. This is far from an ordinary class. When I was evaluating my team's strength in combat today they shattered my expectations of new genin. I know these are all clan heirs, but I wasn't expecting this. I wonder what could have triggered the sudden growth." Kurenai stated

"I saw the same thing. The Nara brat actually managed to catch me with one of his shadows and I was almost flattened by Choji. Ino was the real surprise, though. The way she was able to run interference with her poisons and ninja tools was incredible. If I were any less advanced of a Jonin, Ino's last mind swap technique would have hit me and that would have been it." Stated Asuma matter-of-factly

"I'll tell you what caused all of this. It was the gaki. He's a lot brighter than he lets on and something about him really seems to have rubbed off on the class this year. He was telling me about it the first day that he beat Sasuke in a spar! The idiot wouldn't shut up about it, but it peaked my curiosity so I kept tabs on the class. After that is when I really saw the shift. First in the brooding duck ass, and then it slowly spread with everyone he befriended.

"Good. It seems as if the flames of youth run bright through all of our students! I look forward to training our teams together!"

"Anko-chan. It's not like you to take such an interest in someone. I didn't pay it much mind before, but you've certainly gone out of your way to scout Uzamaki-san." Kurenai said.

"I told you Kurenai I don't give a fuck about the stupid Gaki." Anko said as she final finished her steak and slammed the skewer down. She sighed, "He was just in that forest alone for so long, you know? I had to make sure he was adjusting."

Kurenai nodded. It was a rare serious moment from her junior, but she understood. Anko was a bit of an outcast herself. _I guess it would be only natural that she sees some of the similarities between them._

* * *

**At Yakiniku's with the team 9**

Naruto walked into the room at Yakiniku's after taking a shower at his apartment. He looked around the room and saw all of team 8 and team 10, but the rest of team 7 were missing. _I must be the quickest to shower._

"Naruto-Baka! Did you do it? Did you guys pass the test?" Ino yelled as she exploded off the ground to hug Naruto.

Naruto wrapped Ino tightly, reciprocating the hug. "Of course I did Ino-chan! Do you think the future hokage would be held up by a cyclops ninja and some bells? Believe it!" Naruto laughed while striking his signature pose. Ino smiled back and enjoyed Naruto's warmth for another moment before breaking off and retaking her seat.

"Good, I can hardly tolerate to keep you around anyway baka. It would be embarrassing to be your friend if you were stupid _and_ a failure." Ino said still keeping her grin.

"That's pretty funny coming from the girl who didn't realize that afternoon was a combination of the words after and noon." Naruto said blankly as he took a seat at the table.

"BAKA that was supposed to stay between us." Ino said shyly as she concealed a blush.

The rest of the room started laughing at Ino's expense and greeted Naruto in turn while they waited for the rest of team 7 to join them. It wasn't long before Sakura and Sasuke walked in and they called for their server to take the order. Once everyone was satisfied with their order and the server disappeared the questioning began.

"So you guys had another test? I thought you three had already passed the genin test? Don't tell me you did so bad they had to give you guys another one?" Kiba said with a smirk.

"How troublesome that must have been"

"Yes, what did this test consist of? I admit I've been curious myself. Our instructor just evaluated our combat prowess." Shino said.

Naruto looked towards Sakura who looked exceedingly nervous. _I wonder what that's all about. She hasn't been nervous all day and Sasuke's been around. Is it Ino?_ He wondered as he looked towards Sasuke.

"Hmph, you can explain Dobe. You like hearing yourself talk."

_He's not wrong_

"Well it was really a test of our ability to work as a team and of course I acted as our fearless leader! Believe it!'" Naruto went on to explain the events of the test in an excited manner. He managed to stretch the 7 or so minutes of combat until the food got to the table before he wrapped up his story.

"Yeah right. There's no way you and duck-ass were able to pull off a combination jutsu like that, and everyone knows cloning shuriken is the Hokage's technique. There's no way a Gaki like you could pull that off!" Kiba sneered.

"Actually Kiba-san, I've seen Naruto-kun use the technique in training before… so…so" Hinata started before she saw Naruto looking over at her and became embarrassed.

"Naruto-kun can totally do all that and way more. Me and Shika saw him make hundreds one time when we were training." Choji said as he looked at his barbeque with delight.

"Yeah right. You expect me to believe he got that lazy asshole to train? Try again Choji" Ino laughed.

"Yeah the dobe could never learn a technique like that, and even if he'd did I'd still kick his ass. Isn't that right Akamaru?" Kiba said as Akamaru gave an "arf" in reply.

"B…b…but Kiba-san. Na…Naruto-kun won every spar between the two of you" Hinata said as she poked her fingers together shyly.

"Who asked you Hinata? We're teammates now you're supposed to back me up you know!" Kiba shouted.

Everyone broke into laughter again and talked lightly until they had all finished their food. These were Naruto's favorite moments. He knew they'd all be much busier soon with missions and genin duties, as excited as he was to start his ninja career officially, these were the moments he'd miss the most.

"Hey we should try to get together once a month or so and do this again you know?" Naruto said as everyone was standing

"I guess this hasn't been too troublesome." Shikamaru agreed

"I'm always down for barbeque!" Choji said

"I guess I can tolerate Naruto-baka and forehead if everyone else is here" Ino replied with a smile

"I'll be here as long as Sasuke-kun is!" Sakura yelled

"This has been an enjoyable experience" Shino said

"You know I'm always down for a good time!" Kiba smiled

"Y…yes that would be good!" Hinata mumbled.

Sasuke grunted

"That means yes in asshole." Naruto said with his classic pose and grin. "So it's settled then. Well meet here on the last Friday of every month!"

* * *

**Later that day on the Homage Monument**

Naruto was sitting on top of the head of the fourth hokage enjoying the peaceful view of the Konoha sunset. The monument always smelled of cherry blossoms during the genin graduations. Jiji said that it was supposed to symbolize the blooming of the next generation to inherit the will of fire. The will of fire was the one thing that Jiji never had to explain to Naruto. Naruto knew that he had always felt it deep inside of him. All of those years spent in that stupid fucking forest with the even stupider fox, it was all to become strong for his village and his precious people.

_Yo, furball._

_**What is it, kid?**_

_What's with you lately? I haven't heard any of your quips of wisdom in weeks. Haven't given up on me have you?_

_**If only I was so lucky.**_ Naruto could imagine the fox yawning as he continued to speak. _**At the end of the day were not friends, boy. I've taught you all I can as a bijuu at this point. We don't channel chakra the same way, we don't have the same body structure. I can only teach you the things I remember from my past jailors. Now that I don't have to worry about your dumbass killing yourself on your first mission there's no reason for me to talk.**_

_So what was all that shit about wisdom and making sure I didn't grow up to be an orange idiot in the forest?_

_**Clearly a failure. Now you're just an orange idiot who uses my training to farther your idiot agenda. Now let me sleep, boy.**_

Naruto kissed his teeth after he was released from his dreamlike state. _He's been such a bitch lately._

The blonde genin's thoughts were interrupted as he felt a familiar chakra quickly approaching. He smiled and braced himself for impact.

"I've got you this time Gaki, no one can hear you scream up here!" Anko said as she tackled Naruto and pinned him on the ground with a sadistic smile. "Today is the day Anko Mitarashi gets her revenge."

"Aww Anko-chan I missed you too! You haven't checked up on me lately." Naruto said clearly not attempting any sort of struggle.

"Well I wouldn't want to your little girlfriend to get mad at you would I? Look at my cute little genin. Already a lady killer and so young. Is this a clone? This is a paint clone isn't it" Anko said while poking Naruto's face curiously.

"Of course it's a paint clone. Do you think I'd let you tackle me? I can feel your crazy ass chakra from miles away. And she's not my girlfriend! We're just friends you know?" Naruto said matter-of factly.

"Hmph" Anko released Naruto from his pin and helped him up. "Congratulations on passing the genin exam, gaki. Kakashi said you nearly gave him a run for his money."

"He's being too modest. The cyclops didn't even use that eye of his. He just severely underestimate our ability to work together as a unit. He probably thought teme would be too proud to team up with me." Naruto explained

"Oh? And the Duck-Ass isn't" Anko said with a laugh.

"Surprisingly not. There's mutual respect in our rivalry. I even think he likes me somewhere under all of that angst." Naruto said with a smile.

Anko took time to inspect Naruto more closely. He had certainly grown from the 7 year old that she met in the forest 6 years ago. He still had a lot of baby fat on his face, but she could tell the rest of his body was extremely toned through years of training. She would be lying to say that the Gaki wasn't cute. Unfortunately for him Anko wasn't interested in cute.

Naruto looked at Anko and saw her staring at him when her face suddenly turned sickly-sweet.

"Now that you're legally an adult I brought you a little present Gaki. I'm sure you'll like it." Anko said as she reached into her bag and produced a bottle of sake.

Naruto took the bottle cautiously and watched Anko's unchanging face carefully. "This isn't a trap is it? When I give this bottle to the boss it won't poison him or something?"

"No… no nothing like that. I just wanted to give my little lady-killer a graduation present. Who knows if you go to the bar you might even find some older girl willing to teach you a few things. Anko said as she leaned in to whisper in Naruto's ear, giving the young genin a front row seat to her cleavage. "Who knows Na..Ru...To maybe someday I'll call you up to the big leagues and show you the real use for all of these snakes." Anko whispered into Naruto's ear seductively.

Naruto's entire face and body turned bright red and he developed a sudden nose bleed from the view of Anko's cleavage and the mental image she put into his head. Anko took some of the blood on her thumb and licked it slowly with her tongue.

"I knew you weren't a paint clone. You're lucky I'm in a giving mood today gaki. I'll even let you enjoy the show as I walk away if your little brain can still handle it." Anko said as she turned and slowly walked into the forest.

That night the Kyuubi watched Naruto's dreams for the first time.

* * *

**AN: Long chapter. Longest so far by quite a lot. Attempted some character development between the rookie 9 and the jounins. Some more Ino/Naruto development and some more Anko/Naruto development for the future. Next chapter might get to wave? We'll see. I might spend the time before wave to try and build the relationship between the rookie 9 and the jounin more. This story is going to be a little more village based than mission based. Especially after the time skip. Time skip in 10 chapters? We'll see.**

**We'll get to see more of the products of Naruto's training with Sarutobi as he's pushed during missions.**

**That's about it for my rambling. Tell me what you think **


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